Benjamin f



(No Model.)

B.-P.P0BBRTS. ADJ USTABLE SHBLVING.

Patented' Feb. '17, l-SQL narran Srarns Parlant trillen.

BENJAMlN F. ROBERTS, OF FREMONT, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONALSHELVNG COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SPEGFICATON forming part of Letters Patent No. 446,4?2, dated February1*?, 1891.. Application iled December 18, 1889. Serial No. 334,170. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. Renners, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fremont, in the county of Dodge and State of Nebraska, haveinvented certain new and useful ImprovementsinAdjustable Shelving; and ldo hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in adjustable shelving of thatclass which employ a vertical standard and a series of. horizontalshelf-supporting arms adapted to be adjusted vertically at any desiredelevation on the standard; and the obj ect of inyin vention is, rst, tosimplify the construction and cheapen the cost of manufacturing shelvingof this class by the provision of appliances which enable nie to employsmoothfaced standards or tubular piping in lieu of ratchetstandards;second, to clamp the shelf support or bracket on the smootlrfacedstandard with a positive grip, and thus rigidly secure the shelf bracketor support thereon, and, third, to provide an improved device foranchoring the standard to an adjoining wall or surface and for holdingthe standard securely and steadily in place.

Wvith these and other ends in view my invention consists in thecombination of devices and peculiar construction and arrangement ofparts, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand my invention, I will now proceed to adetailed description thereof, in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure l is an elevation showing a single standardand a series of shelf supports or brackets applied thereto. Fig. 2 is anenlarged view in side elevation, partly broken away, of the slielfsupport or bracket and a part of a standard. Fig. 3 is a plan view ofthe parts shown in Fig. 2, and Fig. a is an enlarged detail view of thewall-anchor for the vertical standard. Fig. 5 is a vertical transversesection on the line a: :c of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals denote correspondingparts in all the figures, l designates a vertical smoothfaced standardor upright made from tubular piping or a round rod or polygonal bar ofmetal, which is suitably stepped at its lower end in a fixed bearing 2,which may be sccured either on the floor of a room or upon a horizontalshelf, beneath which a series of drawers may be placed.

If it is desired to employ drawers for storage purposes below theshelving, I place the standards for the shelving above the drawers on asuitable shelf or platform, which is braced by means of vertical strutsor braces between the drawers,which,l1owever,lliavenotdeemed itnecessary to illustrate, as it is readily ap` parent to any personskilled in. the art to which my invention relates.

The upper end of the smooth-faced standard (which may be either square,polygonal, or other desired shape in crosssection) is held securely inplace by means of an anchor 3, which may, however, be connected to thestandard at a point intermediate of its length or at its extreme upperend, or a series of these anchors may be used along the length of thestandard; but this is optional. This anchor consists of a bar having aneye e at its outer extremity, which fits around the standard, and theinner end of the anchorarm is provided with a hook 5, which is adapted,when the anchor is driven into a wall of inasonryor other surface, tosecurely hold the anchor-bar in place. lVhen the anchor is adapted formasonry or brick walls, a hole is out therein, the hooked end of theanchorarm inserted therein, and the hook engages the wall, and a key 7is inserted in said hole, the key 7 being provided with a longitudinalgroove S in one of its faces, which groove receives the arm 3, so thatthe key is connected to and held from displacement on the anchor arm,whereby the key serves to prevent withdrawal of the anchor-arm from thehole in the wall; butwhen the key is removed the anchor can be readilyturned to permit its hoek to be withdrawn from the wall, as is obvious.

Upon the smooth-faced standard 1 is mounteda series of adjustable shelfsupports or brackets l0, arranged one below the other in a mannersimilar to all shelving of this IOC) character. Each bracket or supportis of suitable length and width to support the shelf and provided at anintermediate point of its length with a prong or spur 11, which isadapted to be forced into the shelf to hold the latter securely on theshelf support or bracket.

The rear end of the shelf support or bracket is provided with alongitudinal slot or recess 12 and with a jaw 13, which projectsrearward from the support or bracket and joins the same on one side ofthe slot or recess 12 therein. This jaw is shaped to conform to theshape of the standard, and the jaw fits snugly around said standard, thejaw being enlarged, as shown in Fig. 2, to increase the bearing-surfacebetween the jaw and the standard. The jaw bears against the rear side ofthe standard, and the bracket orsupport is provided with a bearing 14,which presses against the front side of the standard, said bearing beingarranged below the plane of the jawon the lower side of the s upport orbracket l0 and made integral with vertical and inclined arms 14: 15,which join the support or bracket, the whole bracket or support, withits jaw and bearing, being inade-orcast in a single piece.

The bracket orsupportis positivelyclamped or gripped on the smooth-facedstandard by means of a clamp 1G, which is arranged in the longitudinalrecess or slot 12 in the bracket or support in juxtaposition to thestandard, and it is pivoted on a fulcrum or shaft 17, which is supportedin thc bracket. This clamp is provided with a cam-surface, which isadapted when the clamp is depressed to bind against the standard andhold the support or bracket thereon with a firm positive grip thereon,and this clamp is provided with an extended arm 1S, which projects belowthe bracket, so that ready access can be had by hand to the clamp tooperate the latter to force the clamp firmly against the standard orrelease the same therefrom.

The operation and advantages of my invention will be readily understoodand appreciated by those skilled in the art from the foregoingdescription, taken in connection with the drawings. Each bracket can bereadily fitted on the standard by placing the jaw thereof around thestandard and the bearing against the front side thereof, after which thebracket or support can be moved on the standard longitudinally thereofuntil it reaches the desired position, after which the clamp isdepressed to bind against the standard, and thus draw or force the jawand bearing firmly against the standard, whereby the bracket or supportis firmly and rigidly clamped on the standard. The bracket or support isheld and arranged in such manner that the weight on the shelf operatesto more firmly hold the same on the standard, and at lowered when theshelf is removed by simply releasing the clamp from the standard.

By using a smooth-faced standard which is devoid of ratchet-teeth andother projections I am enabled to simplify the construction and cheapenthe cost of manufacturing the shelving, and I also provide simple andeffective means for positively clamping the bracket to the standard.

proportion of parts can be made without departing from the spirit orsacrificing the advantages of my invention, and I would therefore haveit understood that I reserve the right to make such modifications asfairly fall within the scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In adjustable shelving, the combination of a vertical standardadapted for carrying a shelf-supporting bracket, an anchorarm extendedoutward from said standard and having an eye at one end to receive thestandard and a hook or jaw at its other end to engage ted on theanchor-arm, for the purpose described, substantially as set forth.

2. In adjustable shelving, the combination of a smooth-faced imperforatestandard, a horizontal shelf support or bracket having at its inner enda projecting arm or jaw which fits closely around the standard, saidbracket extending outwardly from said standard and lying substantiallyat right angles thereto, and a clamp carried by the shelf support orbracket at the inner end .thereof and arranged at one side of the arm orjaw to forcibly bind against the standard, for the purpose described,substantially as set forth.

3. In adjustable shelving, the combination of a smooth standard, a shelfsupport or bracket extending outwardly from the standard and having aprojecting jaw or arm and a bearing, the jaw bearing against one side ofthe standard and the bearing resting against the reverse side of thestandard, and a clamp carried by the support or bracket and arranged topositively bind on the standard, whereby the shelf-support is rigidlyheld on the standard and can be adjusted at any desired elevationthereon, substantially Vas and for the purpose described.

4. In adjustable shelving, the combination of a smooth standard and ashelf support or bracket extending outwardly from said standardsubstantially at right angles thereto, said shelf-support having arearward-extending jaw or hook which is fitted around the standard, anda bearing arranged below the hook or jaw and resting against the frontof the standard, for the purpose described, substantially as set forth.

5. In adjustable shelving, the combination the same time the bracket canbe raised or of a smooth-faced standard, a recessed or slot- I am awarethat changes in the form and' a wall or other surface, and a grooved keyfit-v IOC IIO

IIS

In testimony whereof I tfx my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

BENJAMIN F. ROBERTS.

\Vit11esses:

@HALE OSTERMAN, T. F. MARK.

